LEXINGTON, Ky. — On October 3, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Kentucky State Director Dr. Tom Carew announced that over $1.7 million in federal funding has been granted to help fund nine clean energy projects in Kentucky, including one in the Local 6 region.

This funding came through the USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program, which aims to provide guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements.

In Graves County, the West KY Rural Telephone Coop Corp will use a $589,592 grant to purchase and install a 290.16-kilowatt solar system with 38.4 kilowatt hours of battery storage. According to the USDA, the project is expected to save $51,447 per year in energy costs and generate 409,695 kilowatt hours of energy per year, which is enough to power approximately 37.61 homes.

“More and more Kentucky farmers and rural small businesses are learning about the benefits of energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy systems,” said Carew. “With help from our Rural Energy for America Program, these projects are much more economically feasible, and recipients see results almost immediately. Saving money while helping to tackle climate change is a win all the way around.”

For more information on the other projects this funding will be facilitating, click here.